Muslim chess players victims of Islamophobia, racism and hate crime

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – A Muslim family representing England in the European Chess Championships taking place in Austria allege to have been the victim of Islamophobia, racism and even physical hate crime. 13-year-old Yusuf Bin-Suhayl was attacked and left bleeding by the mother of a fellow English competitor.

The family have had a police escort to their hotel and tournament. Father Sohale Rahman has made numerous complaints to the English Chess Federation who is overseeing the competition but to no avail. Throughout the competition the Rahman family who have three children representing England have been subjected to bullying and hate crime. Mother, Tomasina Contu, was spat on when she asked the father of one English competitor not to bully her son! It is of no coincidence that Tomasina wears a hijab.

The problems seem to have started from when the family asked for halal meals for themselves. Father Suhayl Rahman said, “I cannot believe my family has been subjected to so much racism and Islamophobia and the English Chess Federation has just stood by and done nothing.”

The Islamic Human Rights Commission will be launching a campaign to see that those responsible for Islamophobia are brought to justice and those that are responsible for dereliction of duty are held responsible.

Chair of IHRC, Massoud Shadjareh, said, “This is a shocking case of racism and Islamophobia and one that should not go unnoticed, the children are so young and should not be subjected to such hate.”

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9 comments

Give me a break. Muslims refuse to play Jews, engage in worldwide acts of intolerance towards just about every faith including branches of their own and conduct violent jihad across the globe. This so called “islamophobia ” is truthfully islamonausea felt by disinterested observers who are sick of the way Islam behaves

I don’t for one second believe this.I remember a lot of Chess Parents ridiculous antics…including one favourite a great Americans Gms. We’re only seeing one side of this story…I doubt its that simple. This person complains quite loudly…too loudly I think. Its bologna I think.

If the competition took place in Austria then surely it would not be the ‘English Chess Federation who is overseeing the competition’ but the equivalent chess organization in Austria. The provision of Halal food would also be the responsibility of the Austrian Chess organization and/or the hotel where the competitors stayed not the English Chess Federation.If anyone was spat on then the saliva would contain the DNA of the ‘donor’ and could be used as evidence that that these allegations were indeed true.

I’d like to know all the facts, but surely the point is whether the demand is reasonable.

If they asked for Hallal food a reasonable time in advance, and were not supplied it, it might be discrimination. If they first arrived in the tournament and *then* demanded Hallal food, it’s not necessarily discrimination.

By the way it’s not hard to supply Hallal food. If nothing else, all vegetarian food is Hallal, and all kosher food is Hallal as well.